Typically, restaurants, bars, and other like retail establishments, must deal with quick removal of patron refuse from a table in order to allow for other patrons to enjoy a meal or a drink at the same location. Such rushed movement allows for greater profitability for such an establishment by permitting a greater number of patrons to partake of the establishment itself in such a manner. In such situations, however, such quick movement and thus removal of prior patrons' refuse involves collection by hand or in a transfer tub for separation of utensils, glassware, plates, and other washable items, from actual refuse that requires disposal. In such an atmosphere, such disposable refuse generally includes solid components (napkins, plastic cups, plastic utensils, paper plates, and the like) and liquids (water, alcohol, soda, and the like), as well as foodstuffs. Even if the plates and glasses are separated for subsequent cleaning, such liquids are sometimes poured into a trash bin rather down a sink (in some locations, alcohol is avoided from sinks for various reasons, as one example). In any event, typical situations for such retail establishments include the collection of both solid and liquid refuse into single trash bins, if not collection bags, for further transfer into a larger collection device (i.e., a dumpster).
Likewise, other establishments, such as movie theaters, sport stadiums, concert venues, and the like, basically any place that houses events wherein patrons may purchase beverages or food items in disposable containers, at least, are prone to similar situations. Much like the need for quick turnover in restaurants or bar settings, patrons may purchase a drink at such events and not finish imbibing such and decide to dispose of the remainder by disposing of the cup with the residual liquid inside.
The potential for any of these situations to involve the generation of appreciable amounts of both solid and liquid refuse within a single trash bin, and, more pointedly, within the same trash collection bag, thus requiring care in transfer to a larger refuse receptacle (again, a dumpster, as one example). Transfer of such collection bags from within an enclosed area to such an outdoor larger receptacle creates a significant potential for piercing or otherwise damaging the collection bag, thus resulting in a trail of various liquids that would require further cleaning, if not causing potential health concerns in the area in question (hospital settings may also pose the same type of potential problem with heightened health issues). Otherwise, the only other potential manner of removing such coupled refuse is through the transfer of the entire receptacle, rather than the collection bag alone. Such an alternative is not easy to accomplish as the bulky nature of such receptacles, particularly in retail or event settings, requires significant force to maneuver and lift such a container and still the potential for undesirable leaking or dripping of potential hazardous liquids during transfer to a larger receptacle (not to mention the potential for collection of such liquids in unwanted fashion within the larger receptacle itself; with the necessity of lifting such large containers by forklift-type machines and/or trucks, and the inability to control liquid transfer in such a scenario, the potential for significant liquid contamination outside the hoped-for safety of such large receptacles is virtually nonexistent as well).
Thus, there is a definitive need to provide the restaurant and bar industry, not to mention the large events, hospital, even the home trash disposal industry with the capability to easily provide solid and liquid refuse separation without having the user do so by hand and in a manner that is efficient, safe, and reliable. The prior art primarily discloses methods of providing different trash bins with liquid collection components that may be easily accessible for the liquid to be removed. Otherwise, the only other discussion of liquid and solid separation is with regard to paper bags that are subjected to loss of dimensional stability upon the presence of sufficient liquid therein and thus require specific trash bin structures with components upon which such bags must be placed for bag resiliency to remain in effect when in use. There is nothing provided, however, within the prior art that discloses or suggests the utilization of a properly configured thermoplastic collection bag with suitable opening integrated therein for liquid removal through gravitational forces alone and that retains the necessary dimensional stability and strength to permit collection of solid trash, removal of the entire collection bag from the trash bin, and transfer of the entire refuse-containing collection bag to a different trash receptacle. The prior art, as well, lacks any teaching to a receptacle configuration that includes an integrated chute present therein that allows for such a bag to be placed over the receptacle mouth opening and permits not only the placement of solid refuse within such a bag, but also permits the user to pour the majority of liquid contents from solid refuse into the chute itself, thus bypassing introduction within the collection bag. Nor does the prior art provide such a bag device in conjunction with a suitable trash bin configured to allows for collection of such removed liquids and ease in not only movement of the receptacle, but reliable means to retain the liquids therein without appreciable leakage and means to allow for reliable transfer of such liquids to a proper location for further disposal. The present invention thus overcomes these deficiencies.